Gas pressure-regulator and cut-off



(No Model.)

1 0. J. MQGANN.

GAS PRESSURE REGULATOR AND GUT-OFF. No. 374,485. Patented Dec. 6, 18 87.

WITNESSES: M/VE/VTUR ATTORNEY N. PETERS. vlmwtima r mn Wnhiugtom n c.

. vision of means for dispensing with the tubuthereto, andin the provision of means for pro- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OWEN J. MOGANN, OF PITT SBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAS PRESSURE-REGULATOR AND CUT-OFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,485, dated December 6, 1887.

Application filed January 7, 1887.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OWEN J. MoGANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsbnrg, in the county of Alleghenyand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Pressure-Regulators and Out-Ofi's; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention has relation to gas pressureregulators and cut-offs, and relates particu- I larly to certain improvements on the pressureregulator and cut-off for which Letters Patent were granted to me December '21, 1886, No. 854,719.

In the said Letters Patent I have described and shown a tubular double-acting supplyvalve having two seating portions and ports or openings through the shell of the tubular body between the said seating portions, the said valve being connected to and its movementregulated and governed bya diaphragm arranged in a chamber on the low-pressure side of the valve, the two seating portions of the valve and seats for the same being so arranged that they might seat separately but not simultaneously.

In the said Letters Patentl have also shown and described the tubular valve as having a prolongation of its body below the lower seating portion, which fitted and worked within a chamber formed in the bottom ofthe valve-casing, the object of such arrangement being to present as little surface as possible to the pressure of the gas on thehigh-pressure side of the valve.

In practice I have found certain difficulties in the construction of the tubular valve; and the present invention has forits object the prolar portion of the valve and the ports leading ducing an absolute balancing of the valve under any and all conditions and variations of pressure.

In the described patented device I have also found it necessary (in order to obviate the necessity of finishing the prolongations of the tubular valve and the chamber in which it Serial 110.223,!09. (No model.)

worked so accurately as to absolutely prevent leakage into the space below) to provide a packing-ring through which the prolongations scribed and claimed, and more particularly in the novel construction of the valve body or stem, which I propose to provide with external ways or by-pass grooves or spaces, in lieu of the hollow cylindrical body and the ports through the walls of the same; in the provision of apeculiarly-arranged diaphragm which is arranged in the space or chamber in which the prolongations of'the valve-body work, and is secured at its oenterto the bottom of the prolongations of the valve-body and at its edge to the valve-casing, the object of said diaphragm being to prevent the access of gas to the bottom of the prolongation of the valvebody, and in the novel construction of thevalvebody and its casing and the other parts .of the device, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved apparatus, and Fig. 2 a detail view of the valve.

A designates the pressure-reducing chamber, containing the diaphragm B, through the medium of which the supply-valve is governed and operated. Said chamber is composed of two similar or nearly similar sections pro vided with annular flanges through which pass fastening-bolts, and said diaphragm, which is composed of any suitable flexible body, has its edge held securely between said flanges. A disk or plate, 0, rests upon top of the diaphragm B, and upon top of said plate is a post orupright, O, that fits nicely and works in a neck, 0, in the top of the diaphragmchamber. Below the diaphragm is a hollow depending stem, D, having a shoulder, d, be tween which and the diaphragm is placed a washer, d. The upper end of the stemD passes through the diaphragm and the plate O and screws into a screw-threaded cavity, 0, in the post 0. Ports 0 0 lead out from the cavity 0 to the space above the diaphragm,and similar ports,c 0 lead from the interior of the hollow depending stem D to the space below the diaphragm. The uppermost end of the stem D is formed with a valve seat, d, upon which seats a valve, (1*, opening upwardly and held down by a spring, (2

At D the stem D is pivoted to a weighted lever, F, and below said pivotal point the stem fits into and works in a socket, e, which is in alignment with the neck 0 thus giving the stem D and the upright G, which form practicallya continuous piece, a bearing at each end, so that there can be no sidcwise movement of the same.

F designates a lever pivoted, as before mentioned, at D to the depending stem D and on a-pivot or fulcrum, G. This lever F rests and works in a cavity, 71, formed in the bottom of the diaphragm-chamber, so as to leave free space for the movement of the said lever.

H designates the valve-casing, secured to a flange, 9, formed on the lower part of the diaphragm-chamber, by a flange, h, and bolts If 71?. This valve-casing receives the inlet-pipe I and outlet-pipe J, and contains the chamber K, divided into high and low pressure compartments by a partition, L. Passing through the partition L and projecting through into the high and low pressure compartments of the valvecasing is a cylindrical tubular section or pipe, M, made either integral with the partition L, as shown in the drawings, or screwing thereinto, as desired. This pipe M serves both as a guide and seat for'the valve, and is formed with a seat, on, at its upper end and a seat, m, at its lower end.

Below the tubular section or pipe M a wide neck, N, is formed in the casing, and in said neck is placed a bush, it, having a lateral flange, n, at its end. The interior diameter of the bush it corresponds to the interior diameter of the pipe or tube M, and serves as a receptacle and guide for a portion of the valve-body, as will presently appear.

0 designates the valve-stem, which is pivotally connected to thelever F, and at itslower end has a shoulder, 0, and a screw, 0, that screws into a triangular or other angularlyshaped solid section, 0, which fits and slides within the tubular portion or pipe M.

In the drawings I have illustrated the sec tion 0 as being triangular in crosssection; but I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to this configuration, as the said section may be square, septagonal, octagonal, or any other desired configuration such as will allow of a hearing within the pipe M, and at the same time will allow the passage of gas through the said pipe. A plate, 0 anda rubber or other flexible washer o are placed between the shoulder o and the section 0, and the said plate and washer constitute the upper seating portion of the valve, resting, when the valve is down, upon the upper end of thepipe M. The lower end of the section Ois formed with a screw, 0", which screws intoa solid cylindrical section, 0, which forms a prolongation of the valve-body. A washer, 0 and plate 0 are fixed between the sections 0 O and constitute the lower seating portion of the valve, resting, when the valve is raised, against the bottom of the tube M. The plate 0 and the washer 0 are at such distance from the plate 0 and washer o that,while either of them may be separately seated, they cannot be seated simultaneously, and when both are off their seats the gas from inlet-pipe I has a free passage between the flat sides of the section 0 and the inner wall of the pipe M. :The lower section, 0, of the valve fits in the bush a, and to the end of said section is secured a cap or cup, P, of rubber or other suitable material, by means of a metal plate, 19, and a screw, 1), passing up into the bottom of the section. The cup 1? has a lateral annular flange, 1?, that extends out under the flange of the bush n, and the lower edge of the interior of said bush is hollowed out, as at if, to give room-for the spreading of the cup, which issues from the depression of the valve. A head, R,-having a lateral flange, r, and a central concavity,

r, is placed over the cup P, and bolts 8 s s serve to secure the bush, the cup, and the head to the neck N, passing through the flanges on the end of same. A small pipe, S, leads from the space between the head It and the cup I to the escapepipe S, which opens into the space above the diaphragm in the diaphragmchamber, and at its other end leads into the open air.

T designates a small pipe having a small valve and a minute valve-opening, said valve being opened by a push-button, t, and closed by a spring. This pipe T leads from a point on the high-pressure side of the valve to a point in the diaphragm-chamber beneath the diaphragm, and its object is to supply sufficient gas to gradually elevate the diaphragm, and thereby open the valve after the same has been positively closed by the cessation of the flow of gas; and its further object is to detect leakage, as will be hereinafter described.

Operation: The several parts being constructed and arranged as described and shown and the valve being in the condition illus trated-that is, with the gas fiowing from the inlet-pipe I through the pipe M and into the diaphragm-chamber and the outlet-pipe J so long as the pressure remains constant the valve will remain stationary. Upon any increase of pressure the diaphragm will rise, thereby lowering the valve,and by this movement causing the washer o to approach more closely to the seat on top of pipe Maud diminishing the flow of gas. Upon any decrease of pressure the valve is raised and'the space between the washer 0 and theseat on top of pipe M is increased. Should the fiow of gas entirely cease,the diaphragm, sinking,will raise fio the valve until the lower washer, 0", comes into positive contact with the lower end of the pipe M. The flow of gas will be thus entirel y cut off until the apparatus is again set in motion,which may be accomplished as soon as the gas begins to flow in the main by pressing the button t, and thereby opening the little valve in the pipe T and allowing gas to gradually enter beneath the diaphragm from the high-pressure side of the valve. The gas so entering raises the diaphragm, the valve is again opened, and the apparatus operates as before. Through the medium of this small valve and the pipe T it may be readily determined whether any gas is leaking at any point on the low-pressure side of the valve or from any of the pipes, joints, or cocks connected therewith, for if there be any such leakage the gas passing through the very small opening in the small valve will not accumulate sufficient pressure to raise the diaphragm, and hence so long as the leakage exists the valve will not again commence operations. If, for any reason, the valve should fail to operate so as to maintain a properly-reduced pressure in the diaphragm-chamber or the service-pipes,dangerous accidents will be averted by the escape of gas through the safety-valve in the stem of the diaphragm, and thence to the open air through the pipe S.

I consider the most importantfeature of my present invention to be the means for absolutely balancing the valve, and this is accomplished as follows: The valve, when in its open position or in its closed position, presents as a surface upon which the pressure of the gas can be exerted to interfere with the movement of the valve only the underneath side of the lower seating portion, and as the area of such portion is very small, being only so much as is outside of the edge of the cylindrical section 0, the amount of force required to overcome such pressure is but small. As it is desirable, however, to have the valve move with absolute freedom, I have compensated for the pressure on the bottom of the lower seating portion by the employment of the elastic cup P, which presents a surface equal to the surface of the exposed portion of the lower seating portion, and as the pressure is exerted downwardly on said cup by the gas which passes down around the lower section, 0 of the valve, .which fits somewhat loosely in the bush n, the upward pressure on the lower seating portion is compensated for and the valve thereby balanced. Thus it will be seen I have devised a perfectly-balanced valve wherein but a single portion of the valve is seated at one time. The cup 1? serves, also, in addition to balancing the valve, as a spring or cushion and prevents sudden fluctuations or fluttering of the valve.

The manner of constructing the solid portion of the valve between the seating portions-that is, of an angular form-renders it easy to fit such portion in the tubular section M and obviates the laborious and expensive fitting which is required when said portion is cylindrical and hollow.

Having fully described my invention, I claim 7 1. In a gas pressure-regulator andscut-ofi the combination, with a double-acting valve having two seating portions at such distance apart relatively to their seats as to allow them to close separately, but not simultaneously, and having the portion between the seating portions angular in cross-section, of a tube or pipe the ends of which serve as seats for the said seating portions, and which embraces the body of the valve between its seating portions, serving to guide the same while allowing of the passage of gas, substantially as described.

2. In a gas pressure-regulator and cut-off, the combination, with a valve-chamber communicating with a high-pressure pipe and a low-pressure pipe, and a double-acting valve interposed between the high and low pressure compartments of said chamber,aud having two seating portions, and connected to an operating-diaphragm situated above the upper seat, and a cylindrical prolongation below its lower seating portion, of an elastic cup secured to the said cylindrical portion and having its edges fixed to the valve-casing, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of January, 1887.

GIVEN J. MUG-ANN.

Witnesses:

LOUIS Monsnn, MAX ESOHER. 

